Lost in the desert
by yearofjohnlock
Summary: Mindy leaves the airport to help Danny get out of the desert. (Contains sneak-peek spoilers, but no other ones)


**Author's note: based on a sneak peak, contains only the spoilers from that so far. Find me at oatmealmarketing on tumblr  
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"Then I realized. You're mean. And selfish." Mindy's words hit Danny harder than any of her slaps. He didn't want any but's to come between them.

She started walking ahead, making him walk 20 feet behind. "Just make the sound from The Hunger Games so I know you are not dead."

These words were enough to ensure him that there was still a chance. Maybe this would blow over. She had stopped being mean to him for a while now. He was sure that she was the selfish one, the childish one, but he put up a stubborn fight just as much as she did. Maybe they would be poison together. Maybe they would be so similar they would never work out, something Danny hadn't considered before.

"Mindy… I…"

"Shh Danny! I don't want to hear it. I was wearing my cute airport customs shoes, I don't have the mental capacity for any more pain than I'm already in." She yelled without turning around.

He ran to catch up with her, but her pace picked up. "Min, please. Thank you for helping me, I'm sorry." Her eyes were filled with tears as he looked into them. He suddenly felt even worse.

"Why do you think he doesn't want to be with me?" Mindy choked out.

Danny put his arm around her. "He wanted to be with you when it was easy. You're smart and you are beautiful." She smiled to herself. "But he has to want to put up with you when it gets hard. He has to want all of it." Danny was right.

Mindy wiped her tears. "Yeah, but I _lied_ to him, Danny."

Danny nodded. "About something you shouldn't have had to lie about. These guys should accept that you are going to be _wanted_ by others, but ultimately you are with them in the end."

She put her head on his shoulder. "That was sweet. I hate you and will never forgive you for today. But that was sweet."

He cleared his throat to add something. "And it's not just a 24-hour window for a guy to fall out of love with you. It takes much longer than that… to … uh … fall out of love with a person, y'know?" She was surprised that he kept going, "If your relationship was that fragile, then there wasn't enough of it there. Of love." He squeaked out the final word.

"You're right!" She sighed, "I know you are right! I just don't want to die alone!" It echoed in the desert night.

"Min, COME ON, as someone who has been married and divorced, it gets easier. Even though Christina and I got back together, I never look back now. I'm not worried and neither should you be."

"Danny, it's been more than a year since we promised each other we would kill each other if we were still single in 2017. I hope you are coming to terms with that."

He laughed to himself. "I am backing out of that, now. I decided that it hurts less and less to see my loved ones happier than me. I think I could hold onto that."

"Your loved ones? Who do you know that is happy or even in a relationship?"

"Well you were the last one, but I guess that's over." He nudged her with his elbow. That wasn't funny to her just yet.

"Ass! Speaking of awful things you say and do, where ARE we?" Mindy screamed into the night, now even darker in the shrub-dense area they had walked into, with less light from the moon.

"I thought you knew where you parked your car."

"I was planning on stomping off into the night and then you chasing me and apologizing before I got too far. I guess we got off course."

He stifled a scoff, still thankful for her saving him. He can't say he hated the idea of them stuck in the desert together. She was enough people for him.

Mindy turned them around and they walked back towards the original coordinates at which they met. She wasn't upset anymore. In fact, as she got colder and colder, the more she wanted to just propose they stay close to keep warm. But she had to hold the upper hand, here.

They walked in silence for about three minutes before Danny broke it: "Min… I'm sorry. I'm really thankful that you are here…to save me…"

"Thank you for saying that, Danny. But you were right. Cliff can't be the one if he quit after a mistake like that." She looked down at her feet amongst the desert plants. "I'm worth more than that."

"You really are." He squeezed her shoulder.

"Danny?"

"Mhm?"

"What if we don't make it back to the car tonight?" She wanted to add some contrived scenario of pitching a tent and being small and afraid in the darkness, but she wanted him organically, now. She wanted him without desperation or loneliness.

"We'd just schedule another flight. You really should have gotten an 'any-time ticket.' For just a bit more, you can change the departure as much as you want." He chuckled, probing her for some anger or witty insult.

She looked deeply, deeply offended. "I thought you were dying, Danny!" She hit him very hard in the back.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." He replied to her emotion with his truthfully sad eyes.

"Why did you pick me?" She choked and quickly added, "to come with you today?"

"Is that a joke?" He was shocked that she didn't understand the nature of their friendship.

"I just mean… why was I a better companion than going alone?" She now remembered his other options were Morgan and Peter. "All of a sudden I am valuable for advice, even though I can't hold onto my internal organs?"

"All of a sudden, Min? All of a _sudden_?" He gaped at her.

"I mean, I know that…."

"No, I don't think you do!" She interrupted whatever speech he was about to give and lowered his angry Italian waving hands.

"Danny, I think I do know." She didn't let go of his hands just yet.

She stepped up to him, so there was no space between them. She threaded her arms under his and hugged him, just hugged him. He kissed the top of her forehead, thinking she was acknowledging the depth of their friendship, thinking she was capping it at that. In her hug, though, she pushed her tearful eyes and snotty nose up against his neck. She kissed it lightly, but for a long few seconds.

His heart beat was so fast it was unreadable. She moved up and kissed his jaw, the place that always tensed up when she angered him in jest. She looked at him the way she looked at him the night of the Christmas party, maybe the way she always looked at him, except there was no office tonight. There was no Cliff, no interruptions. Everything was perfect. It was just them and nothing else.

Danny grabbed her tightly on the hips and grabbed her bottom lip between his. Mindy slunk her hands up to his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, which she always wanted to touch.

"I'm in love with you," he said it first, not expecting anything but a kiss from her as a reply, but she stepped back and bit her lip.

"I…love you, too." Her voice dropped an octave to her honest, tired, sweet voice. "I've been going crazy about it for a while now."

They stood there, not touching, but smiling, almost laughing at this unbelievable situation. Mindy thought bravely, if they died tonight, right here, in the desert, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.


End file.
